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DRAINAGE OF WIDE FLAT PAVEMENTS

This report, which is presented in an effort to help highway engineers avoid situations which may lead to loss of friction between a moving tire and road surface, examines some aspects of water flow across wide pavements. Factors affecting loss of friction and their relative importance are also examined. The literature in this field was surveyed, and difficulty was noted in correlation of test conditions and the resultant data with actual load conditions under traffic and driver performance. Specific aspects studied are tire and wet surface interaction, tire performance in wet surface conditions, depth of water flow on wide pavements, road surface, road design factors affecting flow depths (road crossfall, 2-way crossfall, curved alignment, gore area at ramp exit and entries, development of superelevation, road shoulders), and channel and pit capacities (storm recurrence interval; flow widths; channel capacity; pit capacity, type and spacing; design of inlet spacings). Conclusions based on the study are listed.